dhf17

I grew up in a somewhat cult like church environment. Speaking in tongues, adults laughing uncontrollably on the floor, people falling out after the laying on of hands. Although I respect Christianity and the values it teaches, looking back on my particular church environment, it seemed deep into lunacy territory. What's your point, you might be wondering...

The point is at the time it seemed completely normal. Sometimes when you get away long enough to clear your mind, you get to see the reality of the social hysteria that you had been consumed by. I experienced this a second time after not watching the news for a few years. Silicon valley, Hollywood, MSM, the 'left' in general, has gone so far bonkers their behavior is virtually comedic at this point. If you get a chance, turn off the news, the movies, twitter, facebook etc, and leave your bubble for a year or two. You'll be amazed at the clarity and freedom of thought that you will discover.

From my perspective as a native Southerner, Silicon Valley seems like a groupthink cult/bubble. Just as much or even more so than the most rural areas around here. Add on the insane cost of living and it does lose a lot of appeal for certain outsiders.

Frankly, the white male privledge guilt message is getting old. Programming is mostly self taught, through hours of social isolation researching and seeking it out. Short of writing politically neutral docs that focus on the subject at hand, there is no need to evangelize. It seems more arrogant than anything.

I've felt this way too in the past but gradually realized that's it OK not to know everything. Specialize in one area, make it your 'home base', and then test the waters of other tech from there. Once you find something new that you like you can gradually chip away at it and expand your skill set. I've got several things on my radar right now, but still put my specialty first. With this state of mind, I don't feel overwhelmed, but still have lots to look forward to.

What's wrong with that? They just want to preserve their culture, don't see a problem with that. I've spent a decent amount of time there, much of which was with locals. Despite being a white dude outsider, part of my attraction to Japan is the cultural homogeneity. I hope they can keep it up.

NA Miata owner here :) Wouldn't mind just a little more in the power department though.

How to graduate with little to no debt and no scholarship:

- Go to community college and live at home for the first two years

- Work part-time even if it takes you longer to finish

- Don't get a fracking auto loan. A well maintained 90s Japanese car will go a long way. If you can program, basic car mechanics is easy.

- Don't pay out of state tuition

- If your going for an MS, get a basic full time job at a university first (A lot of schools have tuition waivers for employees)

- Don't YOLO on someone else's dime, if you're frugal and modest you can do it later on your own.

I work at a major state university that is claimed to be one of the most efficient in the US. On the administrative side it is a disorganized cluster bomb, full of frivolous spending, wasteful processes, and is years behind in technology and software. The things I've seen people manually doing on a computer all day... Throw on top the spending on social justice initiatives and you have your self a fat burden to pass on to students.